a little bit of this or that

Today was the day to get chores done around the house…I actually managed to put in a load of laundry before I distracted myself by wondering where to get a screen door……

Not a winterized 1000 pounder with a screen in between huge panes of glass door, but an old fashioned screen door that I could slam when I am rushing outside (or inside)…..a door that birds don’t fly into because they can’t see their reflections (so tired of poor sparrows flying into the glass monstrosity out back)…one that would remind me of days long gone where my Mom would yell at us to stop slamming the door just as we rushed through it……..

I grabbed my keys and swiped the truck and hot footed it to Atwood’s a local farm and ranch store……even though I spent a good two hours wandering through the aisles wishing for various farm impliments I wasn’t able to locate what I wanted…..so Off to Lowes……………..and I found the perfect door. It was a small wood framed screen door that attaches to the side of the doorway with squeeky hinges……………

OKAY, they are new hinges and they don’t squeek yet but I bet ya anything they will before too terribly long.

So, I bought the door and the hanging kit and strapped that sucker down in the truck bed to go home……somehow managed to get it home okay and into the back yard……..and when I began to take down the broken storm door I realized I would either :1 drop it on my foot, or 2: break my back trying to move it before dropping it on my foot

So I gathered up my bag and off to get Garry! He’s strong as an ox and actually LIKES helping me jerry-rig stuff together……I busily put the hinges on the door while Garry took down the storm door (he even said it weighs a ton!)..and when we set the screen door up against the frame we realized the door was about 1 1/2 inches too narrow for the frame…………..so it was either take the door back (except I had altered it) or jerry-rig the door frame………..AND I decided I needed to make a dog door in the thing before we actually got it up or it would be harder all the way around to get it right……but I didn’t have the stuff to make a dog door with so it was off to the whatamacallit store that carries everything……………..they didn’t have anything.

So off to Ace hardware.where I bought a floor mat and a garden stake…….back home again. I cut the center out of the screen and measured for the mat..cut it down to fit, stapled it on and trimmed it up, then cut the stake into a short holder to cover the staples and provide stability………as soon as I had it done Morris (our aged and senile cat) walked right thru it to the backyard and it wasn’t even attached to the doorway yet! Cool huh?

Two hours,four pieces of 2×4, one fence piece and two 1×1’s later we had a working screen door!